


Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

by Adertily



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Baby Fic, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Future Fic, Pregnancy, Princess Prom (She-Ra), Unplanned Pregnancy, catra is literally just a cat, catradora
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:20:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24509041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adertily/pseuds/Adertily
Summary: Over the years Catra adjusts to the hijinks of sharing a world with magical princesses, and the curiosities of being with, and technically engaged to, She-Ra herself. And it’s cliche, she knows, but she’s never felt so remarkably whole in her entire life.And then it happens, unfairly out of the blue and startlingly sudden. With Princess Prom swarming Brightmoon with too many people, Catra sneaks away to somewhere still and quiet as contraction pains begin - which would be alarming at the best of times, if it weren’t for the fact she didn’t even know she was pregnant. Or that she even could be.(This has been a mind worm of mine since I finished the show. I told myself I wasn't actually going to write it, and then I did. Basically the show 'I didn't know I was pregnant' but for Catradora. Please excuse the biology its magic land, things are flexible.)
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 181
Kudos: 1851
Collections: Good Readings (ymmv)





	1. Chapter 1

Retrospectively, there _had_ been signs. Innocent enough things that Catra felt no need to dethrone Kyle for the biggest, gayest idiot on the planet award. And it wasn’t like anyone else had noticed any substantial clues either.

She’d always been thin, lean. Growing up under the hard-handed constraints of rations, purposefully only ever a few days away from starving as a form of punishment could do that to a person. Free from restrictions, and with time to relax the enforcements in her own mind, there had been consequences, naturally. And recently only more so. 

The phrase ‘house cat’ had been whispered by those who’d assumed she could not hear - there had never been anything taunting about their voices, just endearment. She’d desperately hoped all that fawning would begin and end with Bow. Turned out that letting go of all her feral traits had remodelled her into something to be adored. _Stupid ears._

Adora, bless her, had described Catra as being extra cuddly now. It was hard to find insult in that. And Melog seemed to agree with that interpretation; the alien cat had been overbearingly affectionate lately, bumping the greeting of their forehead into Catra whenever the opportunity arose. As an inevitability of their heights, that often meant Melog’s face ended up lovingly smushed against her abdomen. They’d stopped toppling her onto the ground though, so there was that at least. 

But the idea of her and Adora having a family always seemed theoretical at best, and not something that would just _happen_ without a significant amount of wanting it to. 

Sure, it wasn’t unfair to describe the Horde's teaching of these things to be lacking. There was, perhaps, some trouble and technicality to explaining reproductive biology to a room full of adolescents that didn't all share the same species name. But Catra knew enough to be confident that this was a brand of accident she’d never have to worry about. 

Dating She-Ra had never been tapped into that equation. Catra was engaged to a celestial being that could defy the stubbornness of gravity on a whim - what was bending a few guidelines of biology when compared to that?

It was a less than ideal time when she finally, unquestionably, figured that out.

* * *

Brightmoon’s ballroom was humming. Conversation and colour seeping into almost every polished alcove and hidden nook as Catra stepped around the edge of the party. She wasn’t hiding, not exactly. These things had become bearable over the years, fun even, but the quietness here was giving her the lull she needed before stepping back into it again. 

Adora had left her alone, but not lonely. After being dragged away by little hands and the pleads of the younger royals to let She-Ra come out and play, Catra had been left rolling her eyes, but smiling despite it, standing by the rest of their friends. 

Scorpia was talking, something about how she and Perfuma had been bringing green back to the last reaches of the Fright Zone. A gentle touch and the occasional lightning storm had let the memory of what the land had once been flourish again. 

Catra was happy for them. A sentiment she’d found hard to communicate at first, until Adora had lightheartedly prompted the concept of a gift. The sapling of a pear tree Catra had stumbled across in the whispering woods offering the perfect exchange for words that still got tangled on her tongue. ‘ _I’m sorry’_ had never felt like enough. Nor had this, really, but it was a step toward being the friend she _wanted_ to be.

Scorpia cried when Catra had shown up with it, which seemed unnecessary, honestly, the little runt of a thing housed amongst earth in a white crystal bowl she’d repurposed from their room in Brightmoon. Perfuma had smiled, sincerely, accepting the offering from Catra’s awkwardly outstretched hands. _Gift giving was weird._

But years had passed, and the Horror Hall had a whole grove of them now. 

Catra slipped away from the conversation eventually, it was a blessing what quiet feet could carry you away from at times. 

She’d eaten, a little, but the delicacies spread over the serving tables were as unappealing as the first time she’d contemplated them. The food _looked_ amazing, but her eyes seemed yet to convince her head. Theoretically, she should have been famished, rushing to prepare for the evening had made them all skip the mid-day meal - but the growling in her stomach was unexpectedly missing. There was an... unease there instead. Something twisting in her abdomen. Tame for now, like the tug of a rope, reminiscent of the time Sea Hawk had tried to teach her sailor’s knots to distract her from her very, very bad, dizzying seasickness on a trip a few months ago. 

She blamed it on the party. ' _Too many people'_ was still a concept she was letting herself adjust to without being harsh on herself with blame. It was something she’d promised Adora to keep working on. Guided meditation with Perfuma had helped, and Melog’s presence was an encouragement, normally, but the crowd had roused even them away to the peace of the flower gardens. 

She’d woken up feeling off. Today had not started as a _good day_ and without the alien cat at her side, the distance between her and Adora across the ballroom felt larger than it actually was.

Catra took an unsteady breath. She was tired, unamendable so, something primal nagging at the back of her mind to go find a bed and curl up underneath a mountain of blankets. The insignia tapestry hanging from the wall seemed strangely appealing too, soft under her fingertips as she reached out to touch it. _How hard would it be to yank it from the wall?_

She shook her head, hoping to dislodge the feeling. Turning back to watch as the flash of She-Ra illuminated the walls and faces of spectators on the other side of the room. Noticing as Adora’s eyes found hers, as if sensing, Catra’s face insolently turning a shade of rose at the sight of her girlfriend in _big, strong lady_ mode. It was mortifying that could even still happen.

Something gentle flickered over Adora’s face then, a question, concern. Catra smiled in reply, trusting that the slight lie of it wouldn’t be noticeable across the room full of people. _I am okay, I think, but I don’t want to worry you._

Catra approached Bow, a calculated choice; disappearing without warning would just cause concern, but she knew he would do nothing to dissuade her, nor make a scene in letting the others know once she’d gone. Yeah, his comments regarding her appearance had been unintentionally condescending at the start, but Bow was steady, reliable - like a rock. Catra liked him.

“I’m gonna turn in for the night,” she told him, folding her arms around herself in what she hoped didn't look like too much of a self-comforting behaviour. 

"You sure?" he asked, his demeanour noninvasive. The festivities had barely dawed, a few of the last straggling guests yet to even arrive. 

Catra nodded, dizzied for a heartbeat as something unyielding snarled deep between her hips and the voice in her mind wanting to go home urgently turned to pleading. 

"You want me to let Adora know?" He hadn't seemed to notice her wince, or was too polite to mention anything. 

Catra’s gaze found her girlfriend again, a four-year-old with a flower crown now dangling from Adora's showcased bicep, the both of them beaming. The reincarnated She-Ra was not a novelty to these people anymore, but kids could be endlessly enraptured by a glowing princess with golden blonde hair. 

"No," Catra laughed gently, the point of her ears softening. "Let her have her fun.”

She was grateful how easy he made it to slip away, subtly distracting the group of eyes that cared enough to look for her by excitably showing off the newest additions to his quiver. Why he carried that thing even during parties was a mystery to Catra, but it was a good enough diversion. Even if Mermista did audibly groan. 

Something made her face pale as she reached the hallway, bracing an arm against the wall as a pain like sharp claws raking over her insides tore through her. _Whoa._

She blinked after it passed. Her breathing uneven and wobbled as she realised she'd begun to purr to herself, too high in frequency for it to have been anything other than an anxious reaction. A sound she normally only allowed around Adora. 

No one was around to witness, she checked, before pressing on towards the living quarters, her hands starting to tremble. 

It was alarming how instinct was tugging her towards the safety of what was hers rather than seeking out help. She thought she'd grown out of that. But the enticement of somewhere cozy and warm to crawl into was overwhelming her now.

The pain came again as she reached the room, stronger this time. Stalling at the threshold as she breathed, her nose scrunching in discomfort, the soothing rumble starting up again in her chest.

 _What on Etheria is happening to me?_

She pulled off the confines of her prom garments and retreated into something comfier the moment she'd clicked the door closed.

The bed seemed wrong now, somehow. Too open, too exposed. Whining a little, her distressed eyes scanned the room before she found a solution, collecting soft blankets and feathered pillows from the mattress before transporting them, draped over her shoulders, toward an oak wardrobe at the far edge of the room. 

It was big, big enough to lie down in. And with a fortress of padding surrounding her, it remained starkly more comfortable than the sleeping arrangements had been back with the hoard. 

Catra curled in on herself limply. Aware of a crack of light falling through a gap between the doors as it feebly battled away total darkness. The clothing above her smelled like Adora; smelled like home, and the warm nest of cotton and down around her felt reassuring in a way she couldn’t explain. 

The discomfort returned in waves, as did the soothing thrumming sound in her chest, but this time, she didn’t fight off either.

* * *

Adora returned to herself, the familiar rush of being She-Ra fading away like a kind of supercharged caffeine withdrawal. But she didn’t stumble, nor waver. Her body had taken a long time to get used to the power; of being able to manifest an infinitely stronger part of herself - and even longer to learn how to just be Adora again afterwards. How to feel okay while being soft and squishy once again.

The attention span of the group of children had been erratic enough to give her vertigo, but their parents herded them away eventually, politely.

Adora sought out Glimmer and Bow after a beat of observing the room, though they weren’t who she’d originally been looking for. “Have you guys seen Catra?” 

“Yeah,” Bow nodded simply, eyeing the colourful options over the buffet table. “She left about an hour ago.”

“She did?” Glimmer frowned. “Why didn’t you say something?”

He shrugged, selecting a few of the desserts to place on the crystal dish in his hand. “She looked like she wanted to be alone for a bit.”

“Was she okay?” Glimmer asked, crossing her arms at how he seemed to be paying more attention to his food than their friend. 

“Yeah, she was fine,” Bow confirmed. “She didn’t want to bother anyone with it so I’m sure it’s nothing major.” 

“Maybe I should go check on her,” Adora said. Catra had often had a resurgence of guilt after these parties, she knew - it might take a lifetime to unlearn, but Adora didn’t like Catra being alone while she was like this.

“Do you want me to come too?” Glimmer volunteered, concern stitched into her forehead now. 

“No,” Adora shook her head. It would have been faster, but Catra would unlikely appreciate the two of them bouncing in on her unexpectedly. “I think it's better if it’s just me.” 

* * *

The hallway was empty as Adora’s footsteps fell quietly against marble floors, most of the palace guards diverted to the ballroom. She stilled as the corridor revealed the doorway to their bedroom a few minutes later, worry tangling up in her chest like thorns as she soundlessly pried the heavy doors open with her shoulder. 

But the room was empty. The noise of the waterfall flowing happily and babbling as it met the pool of water below. The bed had been stripped barren; prom night seemed a strange choice for the palace maids to organise laundry, she thought. 

Adora scratched her head, letting the doors fall closed again as she adventured towards the gardens. _Maybe Catra had gone looking for Melog?_

* * *

“I can’t find her,” Adora admitted a while later, having returned to the ballroom. Simmering apprehension had gathered the rest of their friends like a war room around a battle map.

“She’s not in your bedroom?” Glimmer puzzled.

“No,’

“Did you try the gardens?” Bow asked; outside was a popular breathing space for all of them, but Melog had been alone as they'd blinked sleepily at her from a bed of daisies. Adora nodded.

“The roof?” The suggestion from Perfuma this time. 

“She’s not anywhere,” Adora said dolefully, throwing her arms up in defeat. “I can’t find her.” 

The princess alliance shared an uneasy glance, this was… _odd,_ even for Catra - but she’d never really earned the need for concern. She'd relentlessly outmatched every single one of them at one point or another, it was not unfaithful to trust that she could look after herself _._

But it wasn’t her physical defences Adora was worried about.

“You know,” Scorpia began energetically, stealing everyone’s attention. “This one time when I was a kid growing up in the fright zone, I wanted a pet so badly so I could have something to keep me company that I started sharing my rations with this mouse I found in the barracks,” 

One of Scorpia’s claws reached up to scratch at her head then, as Adora wondered patiently how on Etheria this had any relevance. “At least, I _thought_ it was the same mouse, for all I knew at the time it could have been a different one each day. But she was the sweetest thing,” Her eyes lit up like a glowing runestone. “Anyway, one day I thought she must have been caught because she didn’t show up, but then when she returned a few weeks later she had a bunch of tiny, most adorable little mouse babies I’d ever seen following behind her.”

Adora blinked. 

“Yeah...” Mermista replied dryly. “Something tells me that’s _not_ what’s happening here.” 

Frosta folded her arms. “And definitely don’t go comparing Catra to a pet mouse where she can hear you.”

“Would you like help finding her?” Perfuma offered kindly, her attention turning back to Adora. 

“Maybe just Bow and Glimmer,” Adora suggested, looking toward them while trying not to let any misgivings seep from her voice. “Pulling you all away from the party seems unnecessary.” 

“I’m on it,” The Queen of Brightmoon nodded, departing in an instant as the air around where she had been shimmered with candescent light before they could even make a plan. Adora didn’t fault her, she’d be able to skim through every room in the castle by the time Adora’s feet lead her outside the ballroom again.

“I’ll head into the woods,” Bow suggested, having finished rolling his eyes fondly at his wife. “Maybe Catra’s simply gone for a walk?” 

“I’ll try Melog again,” _They might be willing to wake up now_ , Adora hoped. 

* * *

The alien cat chirped at Adora as she knelt in the patch of daisies to persuade them awake, their eyes stubbornly refusing to open as their head rolled heavily into her lap instead. “Melog, please, I need your help.” 

They meowed a reply, a tired raspy sound. Before regrettably pushing onto their feet with an expression that Adora identified as grouchy. 

“What’s got you in such a mood?” Adora asked, regretting the answer that formed in her head. “Come on, Catra’s missing, are you able to take me to her?” 

“Mmppprrpp,”

Adora took that as reluctant agreement, watching as Melog stretched into a long, slow bow, claws digging into earth, before they began padding towards the castle. 

* * *

Adora found herself guided back in their empty bedroom, unhelpfully. Preparing to groan into the palm of her hands before she observed the shapeshifting cat step toward the wardrobe, flopping down beside with a languid flick of their tail. 

“Mrroowrrr,” It sounded like an answer, an instruction, so Adora cautiously advanced.

The wooden door creaked open as she tugged it, finding the unmistakable shape of Catra curled up in a ball and napping within a lavish den of bedding on the floor. 

Adora’s eye twitched, _the wardrobe? Really?_ _I’ve been worried about you and this whole time you’ve just been sleeping somewhere inconspicuous in the first place I checked?_

Adora released a sigh, letting the tension in her limbs finally drip away and her expression soften involuntarily. _Cats_ , she thought - impossible for the sentiment to lack affection. 

“Catra,” She spoke quietly, melodically, in an attempt to rouse her girlfriend as she knelt. 

Adora smiled helplessly as Catra let out the very same adorably dishevelled 'bbrrrppt' sound she’d made waking up every morning since they were kids. Her eyes blinked open drowsily, one at a time. Hair ruffled and her cheeks pink like she'd just walked away from a battlefield. 

When Catra spoke her voice cracked slightly, just like the tentative smile forming on her face. "Hey, Adora."

"Hey, sleepyhead," Adora tried not to outwardly fawn over her girlfriend's droopy ears. "You okay?" 

The relief burned away in Adora's veins, replaced by something that stung as Catra's expression shifted to nervousness, an emotion that time had allowed to become unfamiliar and misplaced amongst her facial features. 

"Adora… uh, something’s happened..." Which was a miraculous understatement, Adora would soon realise. Watching as Catra pressed weakly up onto an arm, the blanket dropping from her shoulder to reveal a bundle of linen and tiny limbs that her body had been cocooned around. 

Someone made a squeaking sound, though looking back, Adora was pretty sure it had been her. 

“Uhh, Catra,” Adora blinked, pointing with comically wide eyes. “Where exactly did you find a baby?”

She didn't wait for an answer before pressing forward, an illogical part of her not needing one as she moved close enough that it would have been invasive were it anyone else in the universe she was leaning over.

It had cat ears, Adora noted, still flattened like a newborn kitten’s against an endearing ruffle of blonde hair, pale tabby stripes down its arms and what would probably be startling blue eyes were they to flicker open. 

“How in Grayskull’s name did this happen?” Adora asked, surprise making her voice possibly a little too loud. 

“I don’t know!” Catra’s ears tipped back a little, a shade softer than irritation. “You’re the one swinging around a mysterious, magical sword with unexplored capabilities, you tell me!” 

They both quietened, apologetically, as the baby made a disturbed mewling sound. Catra let her face fall into her hand, a self-pacifying gesture as she groaned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound suggestive.”

Adora snorted lightly, though it surprised her that she was even able to find any amusement in this at all, the weight of the situation suddenly slamming down on her like the weight of a horde tank. “Jeez Catra, are you okay? Like, actually okay?”

“I’m fine,” she promised as Adora began fussing over her, batting her invasive hands away and trying to discourage her teeth from nipping. “I’m fine.” 

“Will you let me take you to the infirmary at least?” 

Catra paused, unsure how ready she was for this to become public knowledge when she was still adjusting to the astounding reality of it herself. But she offered no debate, eventually nodding as she acknowledged the way Adora’s eyes were swimming with concern. 

* * *

Kicking the infirmary door wide open seemed a touch dramatic to Catra. She-Ra had carried her here, the baby cradled against her own chest - there had been no spare limbs available. But the veil that the near-empty hallways had provided was broken in an instant as the staff and few patients occupying the palace’s modest hospital snapped their heads round to look at them. And now Catra was blushing for too many reasons. 

A nurse took the baby after long enough for Adora to coax Catra to stop growling, moving only a few steps away to check that the kitten was okay. Looking as bewildered as the rest of them but professional nonetheless.

With Melog standing guardedly over the foot of the hospital bed, Catra curled up on the mattress, reluctantly, staying put only by the persuasion of Adora’s fingers playing through her hair, making no attempt to stop herself from purring at the contact as her head lazed over Adora’s lap. 

The sound turned to a trill as the infant was returned to her, _a daughter,_ they said. Catra had been too dazed to even check. 

Shuffling upright, her arms folded innately around the stupidly tiny body that was placed against her chest, one of the baby’s ears rolling to rest over the epicentre of Catra’s heartbeat as the rhythm of it faltered.

“I think the black garnet’s given Scorpia prophetic abilities,” Adora admitted after a long, disoriented moment. 

Catra’s forehead creased. “What?”

“Nothing, its…” She shook her head. “Nothing,” 

Catra’s eyes narrowed at her girlfriend perched beside her on the bed. “Why do you look so dopey?”

“ _Me_?” Adora contended, taken aback. “You should see your face right now, you look sappier than you did on Glimmer and Bow’s wedding day!”

“Yeah, well, I’m drowning in hormones right now so it’s not exactly voluntary.” Her ears were pinned back, but she didn’t really mean it. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Adora asked, her tone delicate now. 

“Yes. I just ache…” Catra acknowledged. “Everywhere.” 

“I meant emotionally, you numpty.”

Catra stilled then, glancing down at the miraculously tiny fingernails on the fist leant against her collarbone, chubby cheeks letting out the most ridiculously small yawn she’d ever seen. “I mean, she seems just as surprised that she’s here as we are. There’s no one to blame for this, a head’s up would have been appreciated but all we can do now is our best.” 

Adora’s forehead leant into her’s then, comforting, a reassurance, as Catra let her eyes close for a minute. When she spoke again, she was careful to make it inaudible to everyone else in the room save the three of them. “But I have no idea what I’m doing.” 

“Catra, you dummy, nobody expects you to,” Adora promised, moving back. “That’s what the nurses are here to help with, a midwife would have been ideal, but we weren’t allowed the preparation for that, clearly.” She softened, her voice unfairly doting as she glanced down to the bundle against Catra’s chest. “She’s gonna have the two most badass moms on Etheria and a whole planet full of magic-wielding royals to look out for her. She’s gonna be fine. We’re gonna be fine.” 

“Our friends are gonna freak out, aren’t they?” Catra noted, wincing lightly at the image painting across her mind. 

“Oh yeah.” 

Something chromatic flashed by the doorway then, Glimmer materialising in an instant with a kink in her forehead that seemed equally frustrated and determined as she scanned the room. Adora realising she'd still have been searching the castle this whole time. The Queen visibly mollified as she noticed them, a beat, then another. Before her eyes went endlessly wide. 

“How?” Glimmer dashed towards them, stupefied, but her eyes warm as honey. “How do you have a baby?!” 

Catra just shrugged. “It just… kinda happened.” 

“She’s so small,” Glimmer said, the statement no exaggeration. Catra was certain the baby was smaller than she would have been were she fully human, though the nurses had assured no consistencies with her being pre-term. She just was _small._

A nurse approached, overhearing, the same one that was still waiting for Catra to allow herself to be examined. His manner friendly, not pushing, as he spoke. “Our knowledge of magicats is limited,” He explained. “But we think it’s typical for them to carry multiples, it’s understandable that just the one might not show to the point of being noticeable.” 

“Okay, but how could it have happened, you know, conceptually?” Catra asked. There were ways, and they were kept no secret, but they all involved a heavy amount of magic and incantations and _intent_ _._

The nurse’s face turned beet red, before he excused himself. 

Adora stiffened beside her. 

“What is it?” Catra inquired, her ears flickering.

“You remember that weird planet we visited, what, about ten months ago?” Catra and Glimmer shared a look as Adora rambled sheepishly. “You know, the one with the bizarre paganistic rituals and the trees that had apples the size of pumpkins? And you twisted your ankle over an unearthed root and I used the sword to heal you, but I might have maybe tapped into the planet’s power rather than my own to do that.” 

“You...?” One of Catra’s eyebrows hiked. “Ugh, nevermind.” 

The infant made a noise then, something between a hiccup and a mewl, eyes fluttering open like the beat of a butterfly’s wing as Catra came to the conclusion that her heart had just been stolen and she’d never be getting it back. 

“Does she have a name yet?” Glimmer asked, melting a little like the rest of them.

Catra looked to Adora, an idea passing soundlessly between them in the way the others often referred to as spooky. “Mara,” They answered together, the syllables in perfect time. 

“Can I hold her?” The Queen of Brightmoon asked, an intense amount of restraint preventing the words from sounding pleading. 

“Actually,” Catra replied apologetically. “Adora hasn’t had the chance to yet.” 

“Uhh,” Adora’s brain short-circuited as Catra began repositioning their daughter carefully, but unworried, into her girlfriend’s arms. 

“Don’t be a wimp,” Catra teased, before noticing the ocean welling up in Glimmer’s eyes. “Sparkles, don’t you dare start crying!” 

“I’m not -” She sniffed heavily. “I’m not crying, what are you talking about. I’m just gonna go find Bow, wherever he’s disappeared to, and then maybe fetch the others,” Glimmer was bawling now, noiselessly. “Wow, this has been the best prom ever.” 

“Hey, Glimmer?” Catra interrupted. 

“Yeah?” 

“Maybe just one at a time with the visitors, okay?” Catra was consoled by Glimmer’s nod of understanding, offering a final smile before she disappeared. 

Her girlfriend's brain was still lagging when Catra’s attention fell back onto her, staring back at Mara’s unfocused blue eyes, completely speechless. _You’re such a doofus,_ Catra thought _._

Adora spoke again, after what could have been five minutes, or fifty. “I want a whole army of them,”

“Me too,” Catra admitted, though it hadn’t been true before today. “But, how about we just try to survive this one first?” 

“Alright,” Adora smiled, Melog trilling in agreement from the foot of the bed as Catra returned her forehead to rest against her girlfriend’s. Her eyes closing as her chest began to vibrate again. And it was cliche, she knew, but the sound wasn’t comforting this time, nor reassuring - just happy. 

Deliriously and foolishly happy. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a disaster. But here is a treat for everyone who was so lovely

"Catra, you have _got_ to stop biting the nurses," Adora glowered heatlessly, handing over the stash of what she'd been granted to dig out from the infirmary's pantry. Her idiot of a girlfriend, affectionately meant, hadn’t eaten since breakfast and had only just admitted the fact.

"Oh please, I barely even broke the skin," She countered, riffling through the options, pausing. “Do you think Glimmer would fetch me cake from the ballroom if I asked?” 

"Catra!" 

"What?!" Catra’s ears flickered like a lion swatting away pestering flies. "They were probing at her!"

"It was a stethoscope!” Adora pointed out, her arms raising in half-hearted frustration. “It was harmless!"

Melog turned red where they were sleeping in the corner. A growl beginning in the back of Catra’s throat, faint, but purposeful, as her eyes tugged to where Mara was sleeping in a bassinet at her side. The baby’s chest rising and falling easily within the white onesie the medics had snuggled her into. The hospital bed shifted, Adora moving to sit beside her on the unnecessarily comfortable mattress in the private room they’d been relocated to. Jeez, _was this an infirmary or a hotel?_

“You know that there isn’t a single person in this castle that would ever want to hurt her, right?” Adora said, each and every syllable unfairly docile. 

Catra let the crotchety noise die out before it became noticeable to the medics walking the hallway. They were working, other rooms and patients to tend to - but it was still unfamiliar eyes she’d rather not be surrounded by right now. Catra nodded, but it tasted a little like a lie.

“She’s gonna have so much more love in her life than we did growing up,” Adora promised. “The fact that this all dropped into our laps with the subtlety of an iron battering ram is going to do nothing to prevent her childhood from being, deservedly, anything other than rainbows and sparkles.” 

Catra’s ears softened, excepting rather than apprehensive this time. 

Adora moved closer, placing the palms of her hands around her girlfriend’s face, thumbs brushing over her jawline in a way that would have been sensual if the look in Adora’s eye’s had been heated rather than sappy. It came off consoling intimate instead. A reassurance to keep lonely childhood memories filled and tucked away amongst mothballs and dust bunnies. They wouldn't leave, probably ever. But Perfuma had taught them both how to stop the images uninvitedly inhabiting mantle frames and photo albums in their own minds. There, but not at the forefront. 

Catra leaned into Adora’s palm, purring, against her own intentions.

“You know, if you’d finally let them check you over we can all go back to our own bedroom,” Adora said. 

It was a bribe, Catra knew, and not a terribly inviting one. “I’m not gonna apologise for it, but we are definitely going to need a new set of bedding before we do that.” 

“Oh,” Adora laughed slightly, a musical sound. “I’m sure that can be arranged -”

Glimmer was back in the room, suddenly, Bow on her arm with a pinch over his eyebrows that suggested they’d been squabbling over something mundane. 

“I found him!” Glimmer announced, unecessarily. 

The drawn-out moment was far more lethargic than his wife’s had been, as Bow analyzed where he’d been magically bounced to, his attention catching on the infant in the bassinet beside them.

His jaw dropped to the floor so fast Catra worried she'd have to whack it back into place before he tripped over it. A noise escaping the depths of his throat like the same muffled scream Razz's old kettle made every time they’d visited. 

“You _weren’t_ kidding?” He turned back to Glimmer, the question jarred, but honest. 

“Of course I wasn’t kidding,” The Queen's fists met her hips, the expression diluted by the delirious grin still on her face.

“It's a baby!" He said, his voice travelling octaves up the barline as the sentences progressed. 

"Yes, thank you,” Catra replied flatly. “After pushing her out of my own goddamn uterus I had come to that masterful conclusion myself."

The infant in question let them know she was awake by letting out a noise like candy floss - a sound that would have made even Frosta melt. 

“Oh my god,” Bow whispered, heartbrokenly smitten. “Can I?” Some of his voice managing to return for the question, as he mirrored Mara’s grabby hands but made no unauthorised advance towards her. The consideration of it put her at ease.

“Glimmer first,” Catra insisted. “Then you can, but maybe take her into the hallway so I can have a tiny semblance of privacy while I subject myself to being poked and prodded by a bunch of strangers?” 

Adora kissed her on the forehead then, stealing the teeniest smile before she carefully, _carefully_ , scooped Mara out of the crib, slowly leading the others out the room like two trying-not-to-be excitable, overgrown puppies. 

* * *

Bow had a whole mountain range of questions, many that had already been asked and only partially answered. A nurse arrived wearing obnoxiously large safety goggles after Adora’s respectful beckoning, before slipping into Catra’s room with a tentative thumbs up from the three of them in good luck. 

Glimmer survived with the infant in her arms until Mara’s wiggling made her trepidatious, passing her on to Bow where the baby noticeably, interestingly, settled. Glimmer tried not to pout about it. 

“She’s so soft,” He said, hardly above a whisper. “It’s like holding a cloud.” 

Glimmer turned to Adora then, her ardour turning to something more serious. “So... Catra has taken to this whole situation with an unprecedented surge of maternal instinct, how are _you_ handling things?” 

“Oh, you know,” Adora said, airily. “I’m just freaking out a little.” She chuckled nervously. “A lot, actually.”

Glimmer nodded, sympathetic. “You did want kids though, right?”

“Eventually,” Adora confirmed, the chivalry of being allowed to plan would have been nice. “This was all a bit…”

“Unexpected?” Bow finished. 

“Yep,” Lightly, at least. This was easily a rival for the biggest shock of Adora’s life, and she’d experienced a lot to contend with that title, including discovering the sword for the first time and in a blink becoming the fabled saviour of the _entire goddamn universe_. But She-Ra made her feel brave. This was such wobbly legs to stand on in comparison. “I guess we’ll just… do our best.”

“Well, we’re more than happy to help, of course,” Glimmer saluted playfully, her voice dropping as she continued. “And you know, if you’re ever in need of a babysitter, I wouldn’t even bother with any of the others; I’m not convinced they even like kids, personally.” 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be top of the list,” Adora promised, smiling, a thought nudging her. “But actually, speaking of help…”

* * *

“How are you feeling?” Bow asked as he and Adora were authorised back into the room by a relieved nurse, fleeing with only the mildest of scratches over her nose. 

“I feel like my organs have been replaced with mashed potatoes,” Catra grumbled, her nose twitching like a grouchy rabbit’s as her arms curled around her torso. 

“Is that... is that normal? Bow asked, turning to Adora who shrugged lamely. 

“They said I'm perfect, considering” Catra confirmed, softer this time. “I’m being discharged soon.” 

Glimmer materialised in shards of colour in the corner of the room; too used to it to be startled, they all turned to face her. Finding her breathless. 

“We might have a bit of a problem,” The Queen admitted sheepishly, offloading a plate of amandine on the bedside cabinet beside the magicat.

“What's happened?” Adora folded her arms as Catra unabashedly took the desert and began feasting on it messily with her bare hands. 

Bow blinked at her.

“Shut up, I just had a baby.” Catra muffled through chocolatey crumbs. 

“So...” Glimmer began, diverting their attention with the rosey tinted abashment over her cheeks. “I may have accidentally let slip who the cake was for when I bounced into the ballroom to pick it up, and that you guys were here, _here_ , without explaining the whole situation. And now everyone thinks Catra’s ill or dying and they’re rushing on their way over because I couldn’t get them to stop and I didn’t want to steal the right to be the one to tell them what had actually happened.” 

Catra’s eyebrow twitched with alarm. “They’re all coming? At once?” 

“Yep,” Glimmer said, apology seeping from her voice.

Catra groaned, swiping crumbs off her lap and chin. “Can we like, barricade the door or something?” 

“It’s gonna happen eventually, might as well get it over with,” Bow suggested, not unfeeling, but sometimes tearing off the bandaid worked best. 

“I know, but I’m exhausted,” Catra replied, with enough vulnerability in the way her voice cracked that it bit at Adora’s heart. 

Mara whined then, an uncomfortable sound, as she fidgeted in Bow's arms, the noise mirrored by Catra as something close to keening, before Bow returned the infant to the warm cradle of her arms. 

He had to refrain from outwardly gushing at the sight of them together, his eyes turning as soft as a baby lamb's, observing their matching drooping ears as they snuggled back against each other, warm and familiar, and now Adora was refraining from gushing too. _Why are they so stupidly cute?_

"Glimmer, Bow, do you mind playing bodyguard for a bit?" Catra prompted, her voice languid now. 

"Of course," The Queen agreed, pulling her husband resistantly out the door. 

It clicked closed behind them, and when Adora's attention fell back to her girlfriend she found Catra boldly tugging her nightshirt over her head. 

Adora stammered. "Uhhh,"

"She's hungry," Catra explained simply. 

"Right," Adora cleared her throat, blushing like a rose. "Of course." 

* * *

Voices gathered like a swarm outside the door; their friends, babbling and anxious. But restrained.

Catra shifted the weight of Mara's body onto Adora's lap; the absolute goofball had spent the last twenty minutes intent but mindful as she’d watched them. The infant's eyes now blinking and adorably groggy.

Catra dressed herself again, leaving her girls on the bed as she grabbed the nightgown Glimmer had fetched earlier, draping it over her shoulders before padding on bare feet across the room and stifling the grimace the movement sent through her in a dull ache. Scritching Melog’s chin for fortification as she passed them.

The door opened without resistance. 

"Hey, guys."

"Catra!" Scorpia exclaimed. "You're alive!" 

Perfuma pushed to the front of the group of princesses, her face distraught. "Is everything okay?" 

_That question is getting dull,_ Catra thought, endeared despite it. 

"I'm fine, honestly," It had just become a string of sounds by now _._ "But... there's a little someone you guys need to meet." 

They entered cautiously, one at a time, until there was no space left in the room to fill. A few sucked in gasps when they noticed, others making less innocent expletives that made Adora scowl and place her hands guardedly over Mara’s ears.

"I love you all, sincerely, but you're only allowed twenty minutes then everyone's leaving us alone." Catra folded her arms, trying not to let overflowing sentiment spill beyond her eyes. A few shades away from giddy was not something she prided herself in wearing. It was the exhaustion, probably. 

"Catra!" Scorpia squeaked, her eyes shimmering like a whole galaxy of stars as she observed the yawning bundle in Adora’s arms. It _was_ a stupidly cute yawn, to be fair. "You had a kitten?! Oh my goodness, look at those ears!" 

“What’s wrong with her ears?” 

“Nothing! They’re so absolutely perfect!” Scorpia had never sounded so infatuated in all her life, Catra noted, faintly startled by it. 

“You want to hold her?” Adora suggested.

“Oh. No. No, no,” Scorpia dismissed, flailing her arms, her pincers snapping for effect. “I don’t think these would make the most comfortable bed for a little one.”

“Oh, shush,” Catra returned to the bed. “She’s sleepy, she’s in easy mode, you'll be fine.” 

Despite her vocal reluctance, Scorpia didn’t shy away as Adora handed the child over. Mara didn’t mind at all, eyelids flickering as they rebelled against sleep. 

Scorpia was silent, perching at the foot of the bed to steady herself as she just… watched the infant in her arms. Enraptured. 

The others began talking, politely keeping a distance as Adora offered answers to their baffled but energetic questions, Entrapta’s especially. Catra drowned it out, sitting beside her stunned friend and appreciating the stillness of the moment. 

It took a passive few minutes for Scorpia to speak again, her words for just the two of them when she did. “Look what you made, wildcat.”

Catra chirped then, the reverberations in her chest a proud agreement that mortification had, for once, not told her to hold back, leaning her head against the taller woman's shoulder. 

Maybe she would find embarrassment in it by morning. But for now, the honesty of the moment just felt… nice. And that was a much better thing to chase, she thought. 

Catra fell asleep about the same time Mara did. The room's occupants shuffling noiselessly out the door as Adora and Scorpia helped arrange her underneath a warm nest of cozy, feathered quilts and fleeced blankets. Mara nestled into the bassinette an arms reach away. 

Adora felt no guilt that they weren't home, a mountain of staircases and a hike of corridors away from their own bed. She knew her girlfriend; Catra would still be awake if it had truly mattered. 

In the end, home had come to them.


	3. Chapter 3

Catra woke under the pleasant weight of a duvet that was not her own, her senses told her, before the part of her brain had formed to even be concerned enough to ask why. But alarm was given no space to bloom, groggy as she was; Adora was close. The warmth of a body and the reassurance of a familiar, steady heartbeat beside her. And another, smaller, but just as determined. Quick and gentle like the flutter of a hummingbird's wing as Catra’s ears tilted toward the sound. 

The baby had been moved. Now arranged in a burrow of carefully constructed arms and blankets close against Catra's body where she lay on her side. A consequence of the sixth and final time they'd been ripped from sleep last night. 

Mara had claws, Catra discovered, dainty enough that it felt like a sensation born through the haze of a dream as the infant kneaded, aimless and slow, into the flesh of the arms cuddling around her. Pacifying, rather than intentioned. 

"Put those away, little tiger cub," The huskiness of sleep remained in Catra’s voice but the fond laugh she let out managed to be delicate, even melodic, regardless. 

She took one of Mara's extraordinarily small hands then, kissing it as it balled up into a fist around her thumb. The infant making a joyful but murmured sound in response. 

There was no logic to it, just pure emotion, as a feeling began welling up in Catra's heart that was simultaneously both heavy and elated. How had they gone, in only one day, from being completely oblivious to Mara's existence to being the two people she would rely on most in the world? 

It made her feel raw, the responsibility of it, a cavern splitting open in her chest right to the depths of her heart. But dizzy too. Like the moment climbing a staircase when your mind insists there's an extra step, only for your foot to discover the deceit the moment it stumbles. Except Catra hadn't missed just a step, she'd missed the whole goddamn floor, falling with flailing limbs back to ground level as if the whole thing had been an illusion. And _good lord_ it had hurt. 

Catra's attention relocated as Adora stirred on the bed behind her, an arm reaching out, exploratory, but only half alert, pads of fingertips brushing over the thin material covering the small of Catra's back. It was enough to make her trill. Which seemed unjustified, honestly - but the last twenty-four hours had humbled her to the point of disregard. Because _screw that_ , she was done holding back. 

"Hey," Adora greeted, foolishly groggy.

"Good morning," Catra replied, amusement dripping from every syllable. Her head rolling to watch as her girlfriend pushed onto an arm, groaning and bleary-eyed at the light of dawn. 

"Did we really have a baby yesterday?" The question more astounded than serious. 

"Yep," Catra hummed in confirmation as her eyes fell back to Mara. "Our very own tiny, accidental witchcraft child." 

Adora snorted, readjusting so she could rest her chin over the dip just under Catra's ribcage, still lying down, perched on her forearms and attentive as she observed them both. "You know, I'd really expected no more cosmically life-altering surprises after everything we've been through. I mean, statistically, but predeterminedly too, if that’s even a word - the universe can’t possibly be that biased." 

"Maybe it is,” Catra brushed an affectionate hand over the blonde ruffles atop the infant's head. It felt like satin against her fingertips, she noticed. “Maybe there are things the universe demands to happen, even if the responsibility ends up being carried by the same people each time." 

Adora returned to silence then. Not a bad silence - just contemplative, as Mara played a game of slowly grasping onto each of Catra’s fingers in turn. A smile as bright as the mourning sun breaking through Catra’s face at the contact, an expression that was not unknown to Adora. But rare. _They fit so perfectly together,_ she thought absently. 

Adora displaced herself, slowly moving away to sit upright. An unwarranted disconnect from the moment sparking through her mind and travelling along the highway of her veins before she could stop it. The question poured out of her when the feeling returned to thump through her heart again. Unwanted, but insistent. “Do you think she knows who I am?” 

Catra frowned, the expression light as she twisted to look at her girlfriend. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you think she knows..?” Adora repeated, after a moment of troubling over a lax jawline, chewing on an uncertainty she hadn’t even known had been there. “I mean, she obviously knows who you are, but…” 

The crease in Catra’s forehead deepened, sitting up against the headboard to be eye level with her girlfriend, bringing Mara with her in her arms. “That’s not something you’re actually worried about, is it?”

Adora shrugged, but the expression read as confirmation. 

Catra sighed, disoriented by the admission. _But of course the goose wouldn't have realised, wouldn’t have known._

The arm cradling Mara in the crook of her elbow rolled a little, shifting the infant to face outward and away from where she'd been nestled against her abdomen. Allowing the two to observe each other with eyes the same shade of warm ocean waters. 

“Reach out to her,” Catra instructed, purposeful. 

“I don’t see how that’s -”

“Just do it,” Catra insisted, a promise behind the command. 

So Adora did, offering her arms after a moment of hesitation, a beat passed, then another, doubt casting a shadow before Mara decided to return the gesture. Tiny hands with tiny fingernails reaching back as ardently as she was capable. 

Her girlfriend’s expression turned endlessly wide with awe as Catra arranged the infant into the blonde’s cautious hold. Her surprise at being wanted nearly enough to break Catra's heart.

“Of course she knows who you are, you numpty,” Catra told her. “She would have been able to smell you all around in the nest she was born in. That’s a very powerful connection for us. It’s a kind of imprinting, like with ducklings, or -” Catra’s eyes went wide. “Jeez, Adora, I didn’t mean for you to start crying!” 

“It’s fine,” She sniffled, comically loud. “I’m fine.” 

“You’re such an idiot,” Catra laughed, the sound warm with empathy as she tipped forward until her temple was confiding against Adora’s. Her voice turning mellow as she continued. “And one day maybe she will figure that out, but until then, she’s going to think the absolute world of you. And honestly, probably won’t ever stop.” 

“Yeah?”

Catra began purring like an earthquake. “Yeah,” 

The mattress dipped suddenly as Melog jumped up, padding across bedsheets before the feline's forehead attempted to join in with the embrace. 

"Good morning, Melog," Adora greeted, amused, noting how their gaze flickered curiously down to the bundle in her arms. "You want to say hello?" It was a surprise it hadn’t happened sooner. 

Melog confirmed with vibrations from the depth of their chest - like the rumble of a mountain lion, but as gentle as a tabby cat. Their front paws shifting excitedly over crinkled bedding, moving forward hesitantly, before nosing into the constellations of freckles over Mara’s cheeks. 

The infant was soundless, contemplating with eyes as warm as a baby fawn’s, until Melog moved away again. Just an inch. Their tongue stuck out then, softly, _softly_ , rolling over the top of Mara’s head, a tuft of blond sticking up like static after they did, her nose scrunching in alarm as though she were about to sneeze.

“Oh, now _that’s_ a good look on you,” Adora teased to the infant in her arms, exceedingly fond. 

As a smile as bright as dawn returned to Catra’s face.

* * *

The infirmary staff had not begrudged them staying the night, naturally, it was only ever Catra’s reluctance that made the concept a problem - and the nurse staff had been shamefully helpful during the young hours of dusk when the new parents hadn’t known what they were doing and were too exhausted to puzzle it out. 

Catra was realising that stumbling blindly through somewhere unknown might get her where she wanted to go eventually, but not without collecting a few bruises. She managed to pull an apology from the depths of her stubbornness to those her teeth had thanked. Repeating the sentiment, politely this time. 

Melog walked instep beside them as they returned to their room, vigilant and protective, though their emotions stayed a calm shade of blue despite each chesty grumble to those they passed. It was not, for once, a reflection. Catra was focusing all her available attention on her own slow, steady, footfalls. Mara napped in Adora’s arms; Melog’s well-intentioned nudge into the back of Catra's knee causing only herself to waver. 

Her bravado lasted until the end of the first corridor. Adora didn’t mind, and there were plenty of worse things in the world to subject yourself to than being carried in the arms of She-Ra. 

* * *

The room was quiet. Peaceful. A reprimand shared by the older royals encouraging the others against ambushing them as they returned home, for the first time, as a _family_. The concept tasted foreign, but familiar, somehow. 

Catra slid back onto her own feet, the baby snug against her chest as Adora returned with a shimmer of light behind her. 

The bed had been made, fresh linen that Catra instantly wanted to sprawl onto - maybe mess up a little. And a new addition, she noticed, tucked into an alcove only a few steps from the headboard. A canopy of white hanging from the ceiling and pooling to the floor around the legs of a cradle, the material woven with crystals to give it a touch of moonlight. 

Something was etched into the wood of the cot, Catra spotted, moving through the fabric’s ingress and finding the same shape that lived in pink swirls over Adora’s chest. _The heart of Etheria._

“Did Glimmer arrange this?” She asked, amazed.

Adora nodded slowly, wide-eyed as she took in the sight of it. “I asked if she could send someone to prepare the bed. But I wasn’t expecting... this.” 

“It’s perfect,” Catra whispered, running her free hand over the silky curtain. It felt enclosed, like a den, and no inhibitions presented themselves as she moved to place the droopy-eyed child inside. The weight in her arms felt absent afterwards. Frowning _, this was going to take some getting used to._

Adora was, alarmingly, on the floor when Catra turned back around, discovering her girlfriend kneeling. “Uhh, what are you doing?” 

“Catra,” She said, taking her hands in hers with a seriousness that made Catra feel like she was teetering near the edge of a cliff, before she said. “Will you marry me?” 

Catra blinked, bewildered. “You are aware you’ve already done this, right? And that I already, quite emphatically, said yes?” 

“Yeah, I remember,” _She really needs to do something about that ridiculously goofy grin,_ Catra thought. 

“Then why are you...?” 

“Because I don’t want to wait any longer.” 

Catra joined her on the floor then, though the pose wasn't particularly comfortable given everything her body had been through. Settling close enough that their knees were pressing against each other as Adora relaxed, Catra’s voice low and teasing as she spoke. "How very chivalrous of you to want to make an honest woman out of me and the poor, illegitimate babe -"

"Catra, I'm serious."

"I know you are," She told her, the grin on her face spiced with mischief, before it softened. "But the wedding’s not even three months away and we spent ages wrangling back and forth for a date all our friends could make.” 

"But that's the beauty of it, everyone's already here right now for prom, and will be for a few days still before they travel back home."

"Adora," Catra recoiled, amusement stronger than shock. "We just had a baby and you want to get married _now_ , now?" 

"Yes."

"What happened to wanting one like Bow and Glimmer’s? With all the frills and sparkles? And the modiste’s said the dresses wouldn’t be ready for weeks yet, at least."

"I don't care about that anymore," Adora said, as honest as if she'd just placed her heart in the air between them. "The ceremony could be tiny, just us and our friends, I'm sure Micah would be more than happy to hold Mara while we’re sharing vows, and there was all that food leftover from the prom to stuff our faces with after." She paused then, glancing down to their entangled hands. "I just want to be yours. Officially." 

Catra breathed, slow and thoughtful. This seemed, quite frankly, moronic, given the circumstances, weeks and weeks of planning thrown out the window in place of something shoved together like a mismatched tapestry, hurried, and intimate and entirely _them_.

There was only really one response. "Alright,"

Someone squealed then, loud. The sound from the other side of their bedroom door, as the suspicions Catra’s ears had picked up on were confirmed. 

Adora’s eyebrow raised, as she twisted towards the location of the noise. "Was that... Bow?"

"Yep," Catra nodded. 

"How long has he been standing out there?"

"Oh, they've _all_ been lurking in the hallway since a few seconds after we got back," Raising her voice, but speaking just as affectionately. "You can come inside, you assholes." 

Glimmer appeared first, the rest almost tripping over themselves behind her, even Mermista, who’d played such a show of being blasé the previous evening. "Sorry, sorry, we didn't want to be pushy." 

“Clearly,” Catra shook her head free of exasperation. “Is that why Bow had his ear pressed so devotedly against the door?” 

The man in question blushed, a hand reaching to scratch the back of his neck. “So,” He began, sheepish. “We’re having a wedding?” 

Adora looked back toward her, her expression bright. 

“Don’t freak out; the baby’s sleeping. But, yes, it would seem we are.” Catra replied, accepting that this flavour of recklessness felt more right than any of the intricate plans they’d made. 

There was a familiarity in chaos. Maybe she’d unlearn it one day, but for now, with Adora beaming back at her, there wasn’t anything more in the universe she could possibly want. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m well aware that this is blindsiding developmental milestones but I’m writing this more as “what would work in cartoon form?” rather than being realistic to life, if that makes sense? But then again, cat genes might make a newborn a tad less feeble. But please excuse. And enjoy. This will probably be the last chapter, I left it open for you guys more than for me.


End file.
